Big rig full of candy and cookies crashes, snarls Highway 152 traffic

Gilroy
– A tractor trailer carrying 40,000 pounds of candy and cookies
overturned early morning Monday, backing traffic up for 10 miles
east of Gilroy well into the afternoon.
By Lori Stuenkel

Gilroy – A tractor trailer carrying 40,000 pounds of candy and cookies overturned early morning Monday, backing traffic up for 10 miles east of Gilroy well into the afternoon.

The accident occurred just east of El Toro Ranch at 4am as the truck traveled westbound along Highway 152, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Matt Ramirez.

The driver suffered serious cuts to the head and was taken by helicopter to Stanford Medical Center, police said. He is expected to make a full recovery.

“It was early in the morning and the commute hadn’t started yet,” Ramirez said. “This would have been worse if it started later during the commute. We would have had multiple fatalities.”

Police said no alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident, which is still under investigation.

Witnesses told police the truck was traveling five to 10 miles an hour above the speed limit in the morning rain when it jackknifed and ran up a dirt embankment. The incline separated the truck from the trailer and both flipped on their sides, blocking both westbound lanes.

Tow truck operators and police uprighted and removed the truck by 1:30pm, allowing traffic that had backed up 10 miles to the San Luis Reservoir to begin moving.

Removing the trailer forced clean-up crews to unload boxes of candy and cookies onto a new truck, according to Ramirez. He predicted the cleanup and full reopening of the highway would take more than 10 hours.